5 Questions with Robert M. Kershner, MD

What is the current focus of your research?
We have a number of projects underway at any given time, but my career-wide research has focused on microsurgical technique, microinstrumentation design, and the surgical correction of astigmatism.

What is your most memorable international experience?
Going behind the iron curtain. After Gorbachev's efforts with Glasnost and Perestroika and the subsequent fall of the Soviet Union, for the first time we were able to contact and visit our colleagues in certain parts of Europe and Asia. I had the pleasure of visiting and working with Drs. Fyodorov and Koslov at the Intersectoral Research and Technology Complex in Moscow. Also, the fall of apartheid opened unfettered access to doctors in South Africa. I've enjoyed wonderful relationships with some of the world's best ophthalmic specialists that were previously inaccessible to us for political reasons.

Describe your extensive political involvement.
I started enjoying an open line of communication with our politicians because of my international efforts. Exchanging ideas is very much a part of what we do as physicians, but we often find ourselves unable to communicate because of political barriers. Also, because there are only two physicians in Congress, I felt that doctors needed to get more active politically. So, I befriended our senators and I was awarded the Senatorial Medal of Freedom as recognition for my help. You have an interesting hobby—practicing magic? As a kid, I dabbled in magic and befriended a number of magicians. When I had children, I thought it would be interesting to pick it up again, because kids really enjoy magic. Next thing I knew, I was an active member in the two major magician societies in America, the International Brotherhood of Magicians and the Society of American Magicians. I have performed many times in the past, but today I consider it a hobby. Maybe someday I'll take it on again in a professional capacity.

What is something most people are surprised to learn about you?
I'm really a jokester at heart. Some people are a little put off by it initially, but others are pleasantly surprised to see that in addition to working hard, I can also have a good time and incorporate a light-hearted approach to everything I do. Humor is a wonderful way to relax your patients. If you can make somebody feel better, even if just with a word or the touch of a hand, then you've gone a long way in being a true healer. The technical stuff comes later.